**8. Concept of urban agriculture/vertical farming in India**

India is one of the largest producers of fruits, vegetables, and many other agricultural products. In India, vertical farming has been introduced in recent times. Experts from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are working on the concept of "vertical farming" which can be implemented in metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai [20].

### **8.1 Current scenario of urban agriculture/vertical farming in India**

Scientists at Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya in Nadia, West Bengal, had initial success on growing brinjal and tomato hydroponically on a small scale. Punjab also has succeeded in producing potato tubers through vertical farming [20].

In cities like Cuttack and Nagpur, the slum dwellers performed organic farming on terrace and plots and sold the surplus products to the local markets. In Delhi, on the fertile banks of Yamuna River, extensive farming is going on in spite of the fact that farmers do not have any legal sanction to do farming there. In Hyderabad, farmers living along the banks of Musi River use water from the river for urban farming and contributed rice and vegetables to the market [21].

In the urban areas of Tripura, to help the youth for income generation, a prototype model on "vertical farming system" was developed. The area of the structure was about 630 sq. ft. with two floors and two galleries. The ground floor contained two cages (50 sq. ft. each) at both corners that accommodated 100 layer chicks. The central space (140 sq. ft) housed 200 bird broiler/layer chicks per batch. Eight goats were kept on the first floor (140 sq. ft.) area. There were also 12 rabbits kept in hanging cages (4 sq. ft. each). Proper drainage facility was provided to collect wastes with storage facility where it was decomposed and used for manuring the pots. Three *Azolla* tanks were constructed above the rabbit cages which were the source of nutrient to the goat as well as the birds. Ten benches (30 cm each) were kept on both sides of the structure which contained 160 pots for growing small fodder, vegetables, and spices. A water tank of 400 L capacity was also provided on top of the structure for storing water for animals and poultry and also providing irrigation to each pot through drip irrigation system [22].

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*Implication of Urban Agriculture and Vertical Farming for Future Sustainability*

farm for an individual apartment or for a supermarket [20].

cost of managing and maintaining the vertical farm systems [20].

Ideafarms is an Indian design-in-tech company which produces vertical farm products, and the produce is of high quality and organic and the supply is huge. A Bengaluru-based start-up company named Greenopia is selling kits with selfwatering pots, enriched soil, and better quality seeds. A Mumbai-based start-up firm U-Farm Technologies is using hydroponic gardening technique to build vertical

Vertical farming is definitely a solution to critical problems in Indian farming like lack of supply of farm produce, overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, and even unemployment. But there are some challenges: The initial huge cost of infrastructure for implementing vertical farming in India is difficult. Vertical farming in India has to face other challenges like public awareness, technical knowledge, and high

Urban farming, both vertical farming or farming on vacant open spaces, can be a favorable way for ensuring food security in India and around the world in the future. Although countries like Europe, the USA, and Singapore have already implemented vertical farming and are dealing with big projects for future concerns, India still has a long way to go as it is restricted to only few self-interest-driven projects. Institutional support, awareness of the benefits associated with urban agriculture, and financial and technological support from the government can only attract the city dwellers and help them to move forward with the concept of urban agriculture in India. Progressive growth of urban agriculture can act as an urban regeneration tool for the cities by providing social interaction and increasing job opportunities and environmental benefits to the urban areas across the globe. Thus, to combat the challenges associated with rapid increase in population, the topic of "urban agriculture" is being closely monitored by scientists, city planners, and the sustainable

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91133*

agricultural community for a better future.

, Sanjit Debnath<sup>2</sup>

\*Address all correspondence to: hpal@kol.amity.edu

provided the original work is properly cited.

2 Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, India

and Harshata Pal1

1 Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*

**9. Conclusion**

**Author details**

Anwesha Chatterjee1

### *Implication of Urban Agriculture and Vertical Farming for Future Sustainability DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91133*

Ideafarms is an Indian design-in-tech company which produces vertical farm products, and the produce is of high quality and organic and the supply is huge. A Bengaluru-based start-up company named Greenopia is selling kits with selfwatering pots, enriched soil, and better quality seeds. A Mumbai-based start-up firm U-Farm Technologies is using hydroponic gardening technique to build vertical farm for an individual apartment or for a supermarket [20].

Vertical farming is definitely a solution to critical problems in Indian farming like lack of supply of farm produce, overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, and even unemployment. But there are some challenges: The initial huge cost of infrastructure for implementing vertical farming in India is difficult. Vertical farming in India has to face other challenges like public awareness, technical knowledge, and high cost of managing and maintaining the vertical farm systems [20].
